[media-credit name=’Derek Montgomery’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a game boasting two defenses that had impressively allowed 18.5 and 5.6 points per game coming in, and two offenses that had unimpressively scored 25 and 20.2, it could have been predicted that special teams would become a factor.

But the extent of the role that return teams and coverage teams would play in the weekend's marquee Big Ten match-up between Wisconsin and Ohio State came as a surprise to almost everyone.

"It really turned out to be something that shifted the momentum," standout UW cornerback and special teams player Scott Starks said after the win.

"It was something that we had to do well to win," receiver and newly anointed kick returner Brandon Williams added.

Early on, UW got itself in serious trouble with an errant play on a punt. Starks — normally one of the Badgers' top players on special teams — took a misstep with the Buckeyes in an odd two-man back return formation.

Ken DeBauche bombed the punt 49 yards to OSU's Ted Ginn Jr, but — with Starks momentarily stopping to bump a blitzer — the long punt turned out to be a disaster in disguise.

Ginn found acres of open field in front of him and quickly converted them into points. He took the ball back 65 yards to make the game 7-0 Buckeyes.

The Badgers weren't doing any better on their returns than they were on their coverage. In the first quarter, UW's average starting position was the 24-yard line. On three possessions, the Badgers only started past the 20 once.

The UW offense wasn't able to get much going early to make up for the failing special teams play. Anthony Davis, after running for 213 yards against the Illini, seemed to struggle to adjust to the much stingier Buckeyes. In the first quarter, Davis ran the ball seven times, but picked up just five yards. His longest run in the quarter was a mere four yards.

On the Badgers' first drive, Davis ran the ball twice and left the team with a third-and-ten, which was quickly converted by John Stocco and Brandon Williams into a three-and-out.

Another UW miscue on special teams almost led to a second first quarter score for OSU. DeBauche shanked a punt just 28 yards to the Ohio State 31-yard line. With much better field position than expected, the Buckeyes proceeded to bring the ball up the field to the Wisconsin 30-yard line.

But — as they have all year — the Badger defense proved itself more than equal to the task. Brett Bell tailed OSU wide-out Roy Hall on a short slant route. Bell wrapped up Hall after he made the catch and managed to knock the ball loose as he was doing so. The fumble bounced right to Anttaj Hawthorne, who trapped it to give the Badgers the ball.

"I'd say we played as well in this game as we've played all year," Hawthorne said of the play of the defense as a whole.

Of his own play, Hawthorne added, "I made some big plays out there today. I thought I played one of the best games I've played here — maybe the best, considering how important it was. But the only reason I was able to make those plays is the way my teammates played."

The Badger offense continued to sputter, though, and went back to DeBauche just three plays later. DeBauche knocked a punt 40 yards, starting the Buckeyes off on their own 29-yard line.

Freshman running back Antonio Pittman broke a 49-yard run for OSU on the ensuing drive, setting up a 42-yard field goal that star kicker Mike Nugent easily knocked down.

It would have been easy for the Badgers to panic or give up — down 10 points in the second quarter — but the veteran squad wasn't ready to toss in the towel.

"We've been down 17 to nothing against [Ohio State] twice," Starks said of the history between UW and OSU during his tenure. "The team we have this year, we're always focusing on finishing."

Wisconsin defensive coordinator Bret Bielema said that he never doubted the ability of his team to fight through the adverse situation.

"Our guys are fighters," he said. "They're not going to fold their tents because they're behind."

Hawthorne echoed his coach's sentiment.

"We've been down before," said UW's dominating defensive tackle. "We know we always have the chance to come back."

The Badgers almost immediately proved that their faith wasn't misguided. It was, ironically, the same special teams unit that had given Ohio State so much momentum that stood up and grabbed it back.

Williams — filling in for the banged up Starks as the UW kick returner, fielded Mike Nugent's kickoff at the goal line. Finding a sliver of running room, Williams pounced for a 46-yard return.

Davis was the next Badger to start coming around. The senior tailback ran four four- and six-yard gains to earn a first down. After fullback Matt Bernstein caught a pass and banged another first down up the middle, Davis broke through. He turned the corner past his left end and ran 31 yards for a touchdown, bringing Wisconsin within three.

The Badger defense continued to dominate, forcing quarterback Justin Zwick to turn to a rare "quick kick" on the Buckeyes' next possession.

With just over six minutes remaining in the first half, John Stocco made some of his finest passes of the season, hitting Jason Pociask for a 19-yard gain, Owen Daniels for a 31-yard gain and Darrin Charles on a fade route for an eight-yard touchdown (Stocco's fifth of the season).

But the Buckeyes weren't done in the first half. Taking the ball with under four minutes remaining, OSU ran down the clock and Nugent hit a 55-yard field goal to make the halftime score 14-13 Wisconsin.

In the second half, the Badgers came out and dominated. With Stocco struggling early in the half, Alvarez turned the ball and the game over to Davis. Keeping the ball on the ground, the Badgers ate up the clock and sealed the game.

Davis ran the ball eight times in the third quarter. UW kicker Mike Allen hit a 26-yard field goal to give the Badgers a four-point lead and OSU was unable to get any offense going.

In the fourth quarter, UW put a nail in OSU's coffin with the very source of its early struggles. DeBauche put an angled punt onto the OSU 20-yard line. Santonio Holmes couldn't get a grasp on the ball and Starks made a nice play to get to the fumble.

"The thing was that I didn't even notice that I did it," Starks said. "I just saw the ball and was just going for the ball."

"Getting the offense the ball like that was a huge momentum shift," he continued. "We just took it home from there."

Stocco threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Orr to convert the turnover into a quick seven. From there, the defense held, the offense stalled and the Badgers came up with a victory on the road.